Introduction: In recent years, people's eating habits and lifestyles have undergone tremendous changes. The high intake of foods high in sugar leads to an increase in obesity rates, and the convenience of living makes people more lack of exercise, and these changes make the incidence of diabetes higher and higher. Diabetic nephropathy, one of the most important microvascular complications of diabetes, is also on the rise. In the pathogenesis of a variety of diabetic nephropathy, the theory of inflammation is slowly recognized by everyone.
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First, understand the pathological knowledge of diabetes and diabetic nephropathy, immune and inflammatory response is a key mediator
1. Pathogenesis
IL-6 is synthesized from a variety of cells such as activated monocytes, vascular endothelial cells, and fibroblasts, and has many biological effects. It can affect inflammation through humoral immunity, cellular immunity and other functions, reduce the function of islet β cells, resulting in insulin secretion dysfunction and metabolic syndrome, but the lack of insulin promotes the enhancement of the acute phase response, resulting in an increase in IL-6 levels.
This creates a vicious circle that leads to the development of diabetes and the development of diabetic nephropathy. Studies have found that the mesangial cells of the kidneys can continuously secrete IL-6 after being stimulated by certain antigens, and the level of IL-6 in the serum is significantly increased, resulting in abnormalities in the tissue structure and function of the glomeruli. This shows that IL-6 is closely related to diabetic nephropathy.
IL-1β is a member of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1 family, which acts as one of the key mediators in regulating the body's immune response and inflammatory response, and is capable of exacerbating chronic diseases and acute damage to tissues. The study found that by reducing the expression of IL-1β, it can reduce the damage of inflammatory factors to kidney tissue, inhibit the proliferation of glomerular cells, and improve glomerular sclerosing lesions.
TNF-α is an important inflammatory factor in the body, many cells in the kidneys can also produce and secrete TNF-α, by inhibiting the expression of TNF-α, alleviating immune inflammatory damage, inhibiting the occurrence and development of diabetic nephropathy. Studies have found that TNF-α work not only through autocrine, but also through paracrine. It increases the extracellular matrix, increases the thickness of the basement membrane of the glomeruli, and enlarges the mesangial range, ultimately leading to the development of diabetic nephropathy.
2. Pathological changes
Creatinine is a metabolite of creatine and urea nitrogen is a metabolite of proteins. Both metabolites, creatinine and urea nitrogen, are excreted through the kidneys. Therefore, when the kidney function is impaired, the excretion of metabolites will be impaired, so the content of creatinine and urea nitrogen in the body will increase.
The main pathological changes in diabetic nephropathy include glomerular hypertrophy, widening of the mesangial membrane, thickening of the basement membrane, vacuolar degeneration of tubular epithelial cells, thickening of the basement membrane of the tubule, and then develop into glomerular sclerosis, which can manifest as renal fibrosis at the end stage. There is only a very small amount of macrophage infiltration in normal kidney tissue, and its role is to present and participate in the process of tissue renewal and repair.
In the early stages of kidney disease, macrophages can damage surrounding tissues by producing reactive oxygen species, cytokines, growth factors, etc. In the later stage of the development of kidney disease, macrophages, T cells and other inflammatory cells infiltrate and activate, and then by secreting IL-1, TNF-α, IL-6 and other inflammatory factors to further start and amplify the inflammatory response, so that the renal interstitial has irreversible damage, and eventually lead to kidney fibrosis.
Second, injection of insulin can not cure the disease, taurine has a variety of biological effects, can reduce blood sugar
In the pathogenesis of a variety of diabetic nephropathy, the theory of inflammation is slowly recognized by everyone. At present, the treatment of diabetes is still to use insulin injections, oral western drugs that lower blood sugar, and traditional Chinese medicine, but these drugs have great defects. For example, long-term insulin injection will reduce blood sugar but can not be cured, and it also has huge side effects. Oral western medicine will cause the body to develop drug resistance, and it also has side effects.
Therefore, the search for a hypoglycemic drug with little harm to the body and can control the occurrence of complications has become a hot topic in recent years. Taurine, as one of the most abundant free amino acids in mammalian tissues, appears in the body in both the form of free molecules or simple peptides. Taurine has a variety of biological effects, it can resist lipid peroxidation, regulate the osmotic pressure of the body, clean up free radicals, maintain fluid balance, regulate calcium ions in cells, etc.
The survey found that the content of taurine in diabetic patients is much lower than that of normal people, and when diabetics ingest foods rich in taurine, their symptoms will be alleviated. Moreover, taurine can also regulate the activity of neutrophils, so that the phagocytic and bactericidal effect of macrophages is strengthened, which fully suggests that the lack of taurine in the body is likely to lead to the emergence of diabetes and complications. Further studies have found that taurine has a significantly lowering effect on blood sugar, and can protect islet β cells at the same time, thereby delaying the occurrence and development of diabetic complications.
Third, in-depth understanding of taurine related knowledge, taurine almost no toxic side effects and drug resistance
1. Overview of taurine
Taurine is mainly found in foods such as meat, seafood and milk. It is also a conditioned amino acid that appears in the body in both the form of a free molecule or a simple peptide. In 1954, scientists first discovered taurine footprints in the spinal cord and brain tissue, and also confirmed the presence of taurine in the tissue cells of animal bodies. Taurine is widely distributed in the animal body and is mostly found in the cytoplasm, especially in muscle, brain tissue and cardiomyocytes.
Taurine has many biological functions, including maintaining the balance of body fluids, regulating the balance of calcium in the body, maintaining the fluidity of cell membranes, reducing the blood glucose level of the body, enhancing the contractility of the heart muscle, scavenging free radicals, regulating the digestion and absorption of lipids. Many scholars at home and abroad have proved through experimental studies that taurine has a protective effect on the damage of liver, brain, kidney and other organs. Taurine also promotes the increase in brain weight and the development of brain function in animals.
Experiments have proved that when the rat's body lacks taurine, its brain weight and brain function do not reach normal levels. Studies have shown that when milk is used instead of breast milk to feed babies, babies who drink milk consistently develop less than babies who drink breast milk. Experts compared the components in milk and breast milk and found that the content of taurine in breast milk is about 4-9 times that of milk, indicating that taurine can make babies grow and develop more rapidly.
Taurine also plays an important role in the reproduction and development of animals. Experiments have shown that when taurine is added to chicken feed, it can be found that the testicular tissue of the rooster develops better and at the same time promotes the rooster to secrete more male hormones. It also promotes the development of ovarian tissue and the secretion of estrogen in hens. Taurine is also able to improve nerve conduction and visual function.
I believe everyone knows that cats' favorite foods are fish and mice, but most people don't know why. Scientists have conducted in-depth research and analysis of this problem, because cats lack taurine synthase and cannot synthesize taurine themselves.
However, fish and mice are rich in taurine, and taurine in the body allows cats to move freely in dark environments. Studies have found that a lack of taurine in the diet of kittens can lead to decreased visual function and even blindness. With the biological function of taurine, taurine is widely used in food, health care products, medical treatment, etc., which also shows the important position of taurine in nutrition.
2. Taurine and diabetes
A large number of studies have shown that taurine is very closely linked to diabetes, and no matter what type of diabetes the body suffers from, the amount of taurine in the body will decrease. When taurine deficiency in the body can lead to increased symptoms of T1DM and T2DM or complications of diabetes. Studies have found that taurine can not only protect the islets, but also improve the activity of the islets.
Taurine can play a hypoglycemic role by regulating the sensitivity of islets, stimulating insulin secretion, reducing inflammation and oxidative stress. Studies have found that after giving taurine to diabetic mice, the concentration of chain ureazocin nicamide in the blood can be reduced, and there is a certain inhibitory effect on the reduction of insulin secretion in the serum. In addition, studies have shown that the use of taurine treatment can also delay the onset of disease in animals in diabetic models.
From birth, mice with hereditary non-obese diabetes were allowed to drink taurine until weaning, and it was found that the level of taurine in the islets was gradually increasing, thus promoting the development of the islets, and it was observed that 20% of male mice never developed symptoms of diabetes. Taurine also has a good therapeutic effect on some complications caused by diabetes.
For example, eye lesions caused by diabetes, diabetic nephropathy, ischemic heart disease, diabetic cardiomyopathy, diabetic atherosclerosis and so on. In view of the effect of taurine on diabetes and complications and the small molecular weight, easy to absorb, and as a substance that exists in the body itself, it has almost no toxic side effects and drug resistance, making it a very broad application prospect as a diabetes treatment drug or health care product.
3. Taurine and kidneys
The study found that the taurine content in different parts of the kidney tissue of rats was also different. Taurine in the kidneys is mainly present in the medullary tubules, while the content of taurine in the tubules and glomeruli proximal to the kidneys is negligible. Under normal physiological conditions, the body is able to regulate taurine reabsorption through the brush-like edge of tubular epithelial cells, so that taurine in the body maintains a steady state.
Excretion as the most important physiological role of the kidneys, under normal circumstances, a large number of poisons and inflammatory substances can be excreted through the kidneys. The kidneys are also the main route of excretion of taurine. Under normal circumstances, after the general essential amino acids are filtered through the glomeruli, the reabsorption rate of the renal tubules can reach more than 99%, and a very small part is excreted.
Studies have found that the excretion of taurine in the mammalian body may be related to the intake of sulfur-containing amino acids in the daily diet. Taurine has been shown to play a role in four different forms of kidney disease, including glomerulonephritis, diabetic nephropathy, chronic renal failure, and acute kidney injury.
Studies have shown that taurine has a protective effect on the kidneys of paraquat-poisoned rats. Ethanol as an indirect nephrotoxin can cause acute kidney injury, taurine can isolate myeloperoxidase thereby blocking the inflammatory cycle and inhibiting kidney damage. Taurine can also reduce the content of lipid peroxides in the urine and blood of rats, thereby alleviating pathological changes in the glomeruli of diabetic rats. Taurine also has a protective effect on the kidneys of layer chickens that adopt different feeding methods.
Conclusion: Taurine, as a substance present in the body itself, does not have any toxic side effects at a safe dose. Taurine can lower blood sugar in people with diabetes, inhibit weight loss in diabetic states, and lower the kidney index. Taurine can reduce the overexpression of CD68 and MCP-1 to inhibit inflammatory cell infiltration and reduce damage to kidney tissue. Taurine can reduce the content of Cr and BUN in the serum, and has the effect of protecting renal function.